Annual Report 1996/97 - Amending the Competition Act

On November 7, 1996, Bill C-67, amendments to the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act, received first reading in Canada's House of Commons. The purpose was to modernize the Act to keep pace with emerging business trends and enforcement requirements, improve enforcement efficiency and clarify the law. The amendments were intended to:

• provide quicker and more effective resolution of instances of misleading advertising and deceptive marketing practices by introducing civil administrative remedies, including temporary orders, cease and desist orders, information notices, administrative monetary penalties and consent orders;
• address the recent proliferation of deceptive telemarketing practices that prey upon consumers and erode the value of telemarketing as a legitimate marketing tool, by requiring telemarketers to make fair disclosure of prescribed information, and by providing for new offences in relation to telemarketing;
• improve the administration of the merger prenotification process, while reducing the regulatory burden for business;
• revise and clarify the law regarding ordinary price claims;
• expand the tools available to the courts to address criminal conduct through consent resolutions and directive orders following conviction;
• make several miscellaneous amendments; and
• generally modernize the language of the Act in those provisions which are otherwise being amended.

These amendments were developed in close consultation with stakeholders. Their views were sought through the circulation of a discussion paper and the creation of a consultative panel. ¹

1. The Bill died on the Order Paper when the June federal election was called on April 27, 1997. More information is available in our quarterly publication CompAct, issue 3. CompAct, issues 1 and 2, provides details on the consultation process.